Any new meds or changes in medication doses? Some meds will make you ridiculously hungry. I know a lot of psych meds do that, and I'd imagine there might be other meds that do too.

Are you shaky, sweaty and/or pale when you are super hungry? Does your heart seem to be beating fast? Those are all symptoms of low blood sugar, which can make a person insanely hungry. Hunger is sometimes the most prominent low blood sugar symptom for me, especially when my blood sugar is dropping slowly. Usually if someone who isn't already getting treated for diabetes is having hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), it's because they are having insulin resistance, so at first after eating blood sugars are too high, and then the body puts out too much insulin as a result which later results in going too low.

Thanks Jess. No, meds have been stable for awhile (and working awesomely), thank goodness. Yeah, it's kind of a whole-body hunger--I always have a tiny tremor on account of the lithium, but it seems to be worse when I'm feeling THE HUNGER and I get a feeling that's like anxiety but isn't quite anxiety, so I suppose that could be my heart speeding up. I thought for awhile that I might actually be thirsty and not hungry, but then I started keeping track and realized that I drink like four liters of water (plus too much diet soda) a day, which kind of also answered my question about why I can barely make my commute to work without having to get off the subway to pee. As I'm typing this I'm realizing that some of these things sound like diabetes symptoms, which is weird and upsetting, but I'm probably being a hypochondriac. What does one do about insulin resistance if that is in fact the case?

Edit: I guess I could look up that last question on WebMD or something.

Well there are a few ways to test for this kind of thing. You can just get your blood sugar checked, but that doesn't give you a sense of how it's responding to food and whatnot. A better test is a glucose tolerance test, which requires you to fast (usually you do it in the morning, so that's not bad), then drink something sugary and then they check your blood sugar over a period of time to see if there are any spikes/dips/whatever. A third option is a blood test called a hemoglobin A1c, which basically gives you a weighted average of your blood sugar over the past few months (weighted so that the more recent stuff affects it more than 3 months ago). Either of the latter two tests should give a doctor a pretty good idea if something wonky is going on.

If you are in fact showing signs of insulin resistance or if you do have Type 2 diabetes (which I definitely would NOT assume just from these symptoms, which could be that or could be who knows what—I would just check it out and then see), there are a LOT of things you can do from adjusting how you eat to taking meds. But I'd definitely try to cross that bridge only if you come to it, and if you do, I can hook you up with some good resources. If you want to do something in the meantime to see if it helps, you could try to cut down on refined carbs and try to only eat balanced meals and snacks that have a mix of carbs, protein and fat. Probably not a bad thing for anyone anyway, and might help with hunger regardless of the cause.

Awesome, thanks. I will definitely talk to the doctor about those tests when I finally get in to see one. And while the dietary advice is good, I'm actually pretty careful to eat like that anyway most of the time (having worked with a nutritionist in the past), although of course not always. I will make a more concerted effort and see if it helps.

Oh man, first dentists appointment in yeas on Thursday. Only made because when I was flossing the other day, I got a SUDDEN SHOOTING PAIN in my lower gums, and it hasn't gone away for two days. I think I might have the first cavity of my adult life. I am scared - not of the dentist, but of the potential crippling costs that that would involve. eep.

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I think it's fair to assume we'll be inebriated and covered in bodily effluvia all weekend

I have been having a considerable amount of trouble with sleeping lately. I think part of it is related to PMS but for the past week, ending over the weekend and starting again last night, I have been waking up at between 3 and 4 in the goddamn morning, usually having to pee. I don't want to resort to OTC sleep medication but I was hovering over it at a pharmacy lasty night. A doctor I work with told me about how you wake up for like a second when you are going into deeper sleep cycles and if you're uncomfortable or in pain or too warm or have to pee or whatever you stay awake. How do I fix this? I generally stop drinking fluids like two hours before I go to bed. Is that not enough time?I WANT TO SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

You probably don't want to train your body to sleep through needing to pee, unless you want a bedwetting problem. Are you able to fall back asleep after peeing? If so, then I'd wait and see if it resolves itself, or try to further cut down liquids at night (and no alcohol) and see if that helps. If not, then it's the falling back asleep that's probably more the issue to work with.

The other issue potentially is whether there might be a medical issue causing you to pee more, but given that this seems weekday-specific and has only lasted a short while, I wouldn't jump to that conclusion.

I wouldn't worry too much NNY--that happens to me periodically when I'm stressed or drinking too much coffee or my neighbors are noisy a couple of nights in a row, and then my body gets used to waking up then and it can take a week or so to get back to normal. are you not able to get back to sleep afterwards? for me if I can just get back to bed quickly I'll usually be sound asleep again in a few minutes, and if not, I'll read for a bit or, if I *really* can't sleep, get up and have a small, sleepy snack like a piece of toast or a cup of mint tea. the only time it ends up being a real problem is if I worry too much about it, get stressed, and then keep myself up half the night.

I am usually able to get back to sleep, if not for the 2-3 hours until my alarm goes off then for a little while.I stop drinking coffee before noon and never have more than three cups (okay they are huge cups) and yeah, I sometimes drink a glass of wine with dinner. I am also excellent at worrying whether I will get back to sleep but I haven't had one of those nights in a while. I guess the thing that is perplexing me about this is how much like clockwork it is--I seem to be waking up exactly after six hours of sleep and I would just conclude that maybe I only need six hours except then why do I feel like shit the next day.

man but I am feeling all crappo today. It started Tuesday night with a dry cough, and then when I woke up at 2:30AM and couldn't get back to sleep, I took some NyQuil, and then was a fucking zombie at work until I went home halfway through the day. Since then, I've basically been "asleep" except not, really. Waking up once or twice an hour and tossing and turning in fevery agony. My back's all messed up now, and at one point last night (yesterday? It's really hard to tell) even my ribs hurt.

You don't, but in that scenario, especially if you are concerned, a discussion with the doctor about general risk factors for stroke (family history, smoking, current medications—some like the pill increase risk of strokes, high blood pressure, etc) would probably make sense, and whether there is anything that can be done to lower other risk factors present. I think they also can give preventative meds (like blood thinners) to some people who are at high risk, but I'd imagine that's only for certain cases—don't know if someone who just had a TIA would qualify, since I'd assume there are some risks and/or side effects with those too.

i spent a bunch of the weekend kneeling down/lying around on the floor painting skirting boards in my house, and now my knee hurts/feels weird when i straighten it or bend it anywhere near a rightangle. is it likely to just get better or are there any exercises i can do to speed my recovery or am i broken forever or what?

Probably bruising and irritated some soft tissue, resulting in swelling and limited range of motion. I wouldn't worry unless it still didn't feel better in a week or so. Some light exercise (biking?) will probably warm it up and help with the stiffness.

Kneeling and squatting are probably the worst things you can do to your knees. Sorry, upright bj enthusiasts.